Urinary incontinence, which is a condition involving involuntary loss of urine, is a problem with many patients, particularly females, throughout the world. Sometimes the problem is treated with surgery or incontinence pads. Some patients can not receive surgery or suffers only from a partial loss of urine. Those problems may be treated non-surgically by use of internal (intra-urethral or intravaginal) or external devices. A number of external female devices have been patented.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,855 discloses a device for controlling urinary incontinence in a human female including a resilient pad configured to seal against and occlude the urethral meatus of the user. A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,208. In those devices, an adhesive is provided to seal the body of the device against the urethral meatus.
International Applications No. 96/39989, 96/39990 and 96/39991 each disclose a female urinary incontinence device in the form of an urethral cap with a partially deformable body portion, a hand gripping portion and a body contacting surface. The body portion defines a chamber which allows for a vacuum seal when applied to the patient's body.
Each of the above devices prevents urinary leakage by occluding the external urethral orifice and each has to be removed by the patient to allow micturition.
It is desirable to have a device which satisfactorily prevents leakage and also facilitates relief without the need to remove the device from the body of the patient. It has now been found that these benefits may be achieved with an easily operable valve which prevents leakage when closed and allows flow when open.